Numbered
by Kiden Nixon
Summary: Shortly after the events of Kingdom Hearts II. A world is destroyed, and Riku finds himself once more a prisoner to fate on a wild adventure through the disney galaxy and beyond. one sided Oc who likes Riku KairiSora
1. Alone

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, Disney, or anything associated. Silver City and all characters who do not seem familiar belong to me, and an original story I am currently in the process of writing.

This is my first Kingdom Hearts Fanfic, so please forgive me if anything appears out of character or out of sequence. Possible spoilers in later chapters.

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Alone

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The bustling expanse of metal skyscrapers and paved streets, of commerce and shops, business and trade, lies, disloyalty, deception, and deceit, was gone.

Silver City was gone, and all that remained was its empty steel and cement facade. The tiny lights still blinked in merry colors, even after the sun had dimmed out of existence, the radios still screeched from speakers knocked askew, though it had been three days since another human voice had been heard, for now she wandered through static silence. Steel still spiraled into the air, final testaments to humanity, thought no longer supporting floors or window, only fragments of glass and clumps of plaster. Fires still burnt over the horizon, the world in its final attempts to cleanse itself and begin anew.

Even thought she knew it was dead. The world was too far gone, and the darkness was too far deep. The damage had been done, and she was the only one who remained.

The wind howled darkly through the empty streets, picking up litter and tossing it about as she stumbled through the remaining debris. It was difficult, for ever street was congested with empty cars, and every sidewalk with fallen remains.

Yet there were no people. No bodies, no evidence, the world was empty.

Still she continued moving,with a gun holstered across her chest in a belt that had prove too big for her hips, and a sword and scabbard swinging jauntily through one of her belt loops.

Arms had been her first priority.

Food, shelter, and possible company, was her second.

Scrambling over a nearby parked car, she ducked behind the front wheel just in time to watch a pool of darkness pass where moments ago her feet had been.

These creatures filled the streets now, strange shadowy creatures that defied all law and reason. Able to climb up from the ground, and melt again in a pool of dark-matter, to vanish all together, and reappear at will. They ate people, that much to her was certain, but whether her weapons would work against them, she didn't know.

She had no intention of finding out. When she was sure the coast was clear, she stood, slowly, up from her hiding place, and studied the empty streets once more.

In the distance she could hear a church bell ringing.

It was amazing how much you could hear, when the world around you was empty. Carefully she began the trek, following the sound as it rose above the crackling static and stifling waves of silence. Every so often stopping as thought expecting another shadow to leap up and attack her. But nothing did, and before long she was sitting, alone, in one of the pews.

It wasn't long before she fell asleep.

When she awoke, an hour or so later, to the loud echoes of the bells above, she was not alone.

The shadows pooled and swayed around the fringe, in the thin strip of walkway at the end of the pews. From above, the formed a perfect rectangle, she was sure, and yet they did not move any closer.

Her heart began to beat a little faster, a little heavier, as her hand slowly traveled to the hilt of her sword.

From above the bell tolled its final note,and fell into silence.

The shadows all froze, and in that one tense moment she remembered watching infinity.

The world had held its breath.

Triggered, the creatures sprung at her, and even as she screamed and ducked beneath the wooden pews they dived below to grab her. She tried to claw her way across the marble tiles, but her ankles had been caught, and squirm as she might, their grasp did not weaken. From above they angled down, with another scream she ducked back under, kicking and crying as she freed her gun and screwed shut her eyes.

Tears poured down her pale face as she pulled the trigger. She emptied the chamber, her ears ringing now as she opened her eyes in hopes of seeing damage.

One of the shadows swooped forward and knocked the empty gun from her hand. Another claimed her wrist, and as she began to flounder and flail, dragged her across the floor .

She couldn't scream, but she was sure that in her terror her hearts thunderous beats could be heard as it bleated and blared its frantic message in the long and short intervals of morris-code. Arching her back and throwing her weight from side to side she managed to knock over one of the gold plated candle sticks that adorned the alter as they passed. It clattered loud enough to startle the specters, but not enough to warrant her escape. It only enraged them.

The one who had been holding her wrists dug its long ghostly fingers into her hair and seized a great chunk of it in its fist.

Again she would have screamed, but the angered ghost would hear nothing of it. Grasping and pulling as hard as it could, it lifted her head and brought it crashing back down against the floor.

Once more, darkness swam before her eyes, and very soon consumed her vision.


	2. Healing

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or anything incorporated with the game.

**Authors note**: I literally despise, detest, loathe, abhor this chapter. I'm sorry if it is truly horrible, but forgive me. I do think that Riku likes Kairi, but I also think he realizes that he cannot have her. It is clear that Sora and Kairi are meant to be, but the bond between the three of them is still amazingly strong. They love each other, but differently. Forgive me for this chapter please.

_Jupiter-Lightning_: Thank you for your kind review, I am glad you found my story interesting, and well written. Now I hope that I can continue to write up to your standards.

To the other nineteen who read without reviewing, I implore you to comment, if you don't like it, I want to know why. Constructive criticism is encouraged, and even flames are allowed.

* * *

Healing

* * *

His eyes could not lie, thought he tried desperately to hide his feelings. Those dangerously tangible and tangled things, lurking behind the curtain of long silver hair he had cultivated before his eyes. Such a mask was a meager defense, for every small gust of wind, the quick swipe of a hand, or the very act of brushing those bangs before his face, betrayed his motives.

He smiled and shook his head, but his eyes would always reflect what he didn't want them to know. The guilt they misunderstood, the pain they misread, they knew him better then himself, and yet the didn't know him well enough.

True, his feelings for Kairi were deep enough to scare and scar him, but he accepted that he would never be able to love her like Sora did. While the three of them shared a bond stronger then any other, the connection between the two of them was the strongest. Not even the legendary power of the paopu fruit could compare.

He pushed his hair from his eyes, only to have it swing back in place as he leaned against the base of his favorite tree.

It hurt him sometimes to see them so close, but he tried not to linger to long on it. Thought things may change between them, he knew they would always have room in their hearts for him.

So when they sat close together, or when they laughed and swatted playfully at the small amount of space between themselves, he knew, one glance at him, at his eyes, could ruin the delicate strings that held the three together. His feelings, his treacherous feelings, were out in the open, but nothing could lessen the pain, nor hide their quick glances, their secretive shy smiles, their lingering hands, just as nothing could hide the tiny amount of painful guilt he tried so hard to bury within his chest.

His eyes could not lie, even when he insisted he felt nothing when his friend first approached him. The boy remained skeptical, staring up at the taller teen as thought expecting to see something, and perhaps he had. The question had been hypothetical of course, Sora had assured him with a laugh, a nervous chuckle, and they continued their lives.

Again running a hand through his bangs he released an aggravated sigh, knowing that somewhere, probably in their own home, Sora and Kairi were thinking of each other was beginning to drive him mad.

Watching them blush and laugh nervously as they quickly glanced away from each other was laughable, but it made him feel mad with guilt and frustration all the same.

His eyes could not lie, to his friends or to himself.

Something had to be done. The anxiety that began to spread through his restless body upon the arrival of nightfall was beginning to stir within his being, and he knew it was time. Within his hand he clutched a bottle, the love of his two best friends possibly sealed beneath the cork along with his fate.

Pushing himself up off the tree, he pulled back his arm, and flung the bottle as far as he could out into the sea.

In the light of the setting sun all he could see was its tiny shimmering shape as it bobbed and ducked beneath the waves, and finally disappeared.

His eyes could not lie, nor could they hide the wounds that had yet to heal. He had redeemed himself, been freed from the darkness, but there was still more he felt he could do.

He planned to find himself, and maybe, for them and for himself find a way to heal.


	3. First Sacrifice

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything incorporated in the making of this game. The only character who belongs to me is Runt, and possibly any others who may not appear familiar to the Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or Disney franchises.

**Authors** **Note**: I'll stop writing this is you ask me to.

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First Sacrifice

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"So you say she is the last living in this world?"

A great many hours must have passed before she woke up in her world for the final time.

"Then she must somehow know the way to unlock it."

Outside of the nearest window, or what had once been a window, colorful and glorious in he younger days, she could see the rising sun. Night had past on the previous day, and the bells had tolled a new beginning without her to hear them.

Not that she wanted to at the moment, she thought, as her head suddenly swam forward beneath the crushing weight of pain that numbed and consumed her every nerve. Her eyes slipped shut once more, as memories of the attack came flooding back, and with them, another bust of wild mind numbing pain. Her wrists, her ankles, her jaw, her head, every inch of her body throbbed with pain. Bruises, she noted as her eyes opened once more, seemed to have become her new skin.

"Pete I want you to go check on our captive, she should by now be awake."

From somewhere in that back of her throat, a moan began to form. In moments the creature the voice had called Pete would climb the stone steps and find her awake. What horrors would follow, she didn't want to find out. After a few moments of groping she found the pommel of her sword.

From beyond the door she could hear footsteps, heavy and leaden against the stone, and a low grumbling of complaint. Tightly she gripped the handle, and prepared herself to attack as her heart began to pound with anxiety beneath her ribs.

The door swung open, and instead of the moan she had tried to suppress, a small squeak of fear escaped over her lips as her eyes grew wide and her mouth suddenly locked tight.

Standing before her was what almost appeared like a large black...bear...or dog...or cat or something. Whatever 'Pete' was he stood taller then herself, a large round creature standing on two legs in a black, red, and yellow suit of armor. Not menacing in the least, but capable, and gathered in the small space behind him were more of the strange people-eating-shadow-creatures from before, dancing and swaying in order to get a better look at their newest captive.

Their eyes caught, plain black pupils meeting her own dark brown.

He blinked once, then turned.

"Maleficent! She's awake!"

It had not been the bells that had woken her up. It had not been the throbbing unbelievable pain, nor the silence stirring within the small space. It hadn't been the sunlight, nor the wind whispering through the window.

As footsteps, light and filled with purpose, began to ascend the stairs, her heart began to race in fear.

It had been that voice. Maleficent's voice. She did not know the name, but the voice had been enough to tug her from the darkness. Her heart had responded to that voice, to the implied cruelty in that tone.

She could not longer feel her fingers wrapped tightly around the handle, white with fear and bloodlessly clinging, it felt heavy now in her hands as the air around her became suddenly thick with an aura she had never sensed before.

Pete shrunk away to the side, and there, standing in his place, was the owner of the voice.

"Well hello, dear." The voice of the pointy faced witch was condescending, and with eyes as as sharp and as yellow as sulfur, she smiled down cynically at the child. "and what would your name be?"

_Runt. _She clapped a hand over her mouth before she could answer, but it did not save her mind from screaming it desperately into the darkness. The very sound, like a barbed thing, lodged itself within her throat, tearing and scratching at her insides until the pain became nearly unbearable.

Her body lurched forward, only giving her enough time to throw out her arm to support her weight, as with the other she clutched her mouth tight enough to dig her nails into her skin.

This pain went unnoticed, even as the tears rolled down her pale face.

The woman laughed. The horrible woman laughed, and just as soon as it had come, the sinister object dislodged itself from her throat.

"No bother, a name is not what I need you for right now." She waved her hand, and the girl found herself pushed back upright into a kneeling position. "You blubbering little child, I want to know what bars me from that castle!"

_Castle? _She could not speak, but sit stunned before the woman. For as far as she knew, there was no castle in Silver City, only what may now remain of the city itself. "There are no castles...only the ancient literati library, and the college."

"You know what I mean you ignorant child!" Her voice rose a dreadfully sharp octave. "The building of obsidian stone and precious metals! What dreadful magic dares to keep me from it!"

"The college..." A mere whisper of realization. "The college requires a spell as old as blood itself! As old as the Tech race! You will never find it as long as you deceive yourself!"

She didn't know where the courage had come from, nor what she was talking about. The password existed, that much was true, but no one with the exception of the Architect knew its secret. Maleficent began to glow green in rage, and once more the girl was overcome with fear.

"You dare defy me!" She shrieked, raising her staff threateningly above her head. "You imprudent, incompetent little wench! I shall have that password or make a heartless out of you yet!"

Without so much as a second though, the girl tore her sword from its scabbard and seized the metal blade between her palms. The witch brought down her staff, and from the ground sprung darkness.

The girl felt her heart shudder in fear, but something warm overtook her body.

-Something great lingered within the college, something she would never allow the witch to claim.-

With a smile on her bloodied lips, the girl brought the sword point down with as much force as she could muster.

-Her memories.-

"What...! A keyblade!"

Darkness consumed her.

* * *

**Authors Note II**: Please, will anyone review this story? If it is as bad as people make it seems at least be kind enough to tell me. No, Runt will not be getting her own keyblade, so don't fear the making of a female Sora.

I apologize if the last two chapters were terrible.


	4. Tredici

_Disclaimer_: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything incorporated with the creation of Kingdom Hearts. I do not own anything apart from my own character Runt. Everything else you may find familiar belongs without question to the game Kingdom Hearts or to the Disney and Square Soft franchise.

**Authors Note I:** Personally I thought this chapter sounded slightly rushed, but I wanted Runt to gain her blade and history so that I could move onto trying to form a stable plot.

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Tredici

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To what cost? She had felt the blade slice clean through her chest. She had watched herself fall into darkness through dead eyes. Drowning in the tide as it pulled and clung at her, but to what cost? 

To what cost?

She was dead, and yet her eyes flickered open. Absorbing the bright light beaming down from some unseen source above, she was dead, but she was breathing.

The light faded, and she realized it had only seemed bright because she had been in darkness so long. Her body hummed with energy, a strange essence she couldn't name, a strange adrenaline, a hunger, a need to move, to destroy.

She was dead but her body moved. It stood on its own legs, and her eyes took in the sea of strange swords that stretched on in all direction, thousands upon thousands of swords with their tips buried deep within the earth, and their pommels glinting in the dim sun.

Her body was uneven, twitching back and forth, and something was missing. She glanced to the side, and saw herself. Bloodied and broken, her blond hair matted and covered with dirt and blood, her face adorned with crescent punctures from her very nails, and there, standing as testimony to her very thoughts, was the blade, now shaped like a strange key, protruding from the hole in her chest.

Yet she was looking at herself.

"A shadow?" The head that was hers, but not hers spun to identify the source of this new, and yet familiar voice. "How is it, that even when the heart has been taken from your body, your body still remains the same?"

It was another girl, dressed from head to toe in white, with hair as black as obsidian, and eyes . . . eyes . . .

And eyes just like hers.

"How is it, that your body still lives and breaths without a heart!" The girl's voice began to grow louder as she continued to approach, winding her way through the strange swords, though her eyes never left the girl's. The girl had no voice to reply, she could only allow her head to twitch back and forth as her body pitched anxiously with uncontrollable energy from foot to foot.

"That form will not do." Raising her hand, the girl in white, seized the creature the other girl had become and without touching her, threw her in the direction of her own bloody body.

In the blink of an eye, she was staring up at the very same light again.

"Now that I am sure you can speak, how is it your body lives without a heart?"

The girl, Runt, shrugged.

"When I did it, I must have missed the mark . . . "

"No. It seems you have another heart, but this one is not natural. As a child, you were threatened by a disease, a fatal weakness of the heart weren't you?" The blond had no time to reply. "Being in the world you were from. They used science to fix your problem."

"They constructed a heart of steel and mesh, built to do the same job any real heart could do, whenever the time came for your real heart to fail." Pulling the blade from the blond's chest, the girl continued to ramble. "When you stabbed yourself, something happened to your sword, something evil. It stole your heart, tore it from your chest and left nothing but that metal monstrosity to beat beneath your ribs."

With an aggressive wave of her hand, she indicated the area of the organ in question, and the blond felt it suddenly skip a beat in response.

"No matter, you're alive, you have another chance for revenge." The girl in white raised her hand, palm down, and something dark began to consume the key like blade within her hand "Take this, and you will be given the power to defeat the shadowy creatures who killed your family and your friends."

A sword. From the blade that had killed her, this strange girl had fashioned another blade.

Runt took it wearily. Finding it fit perfectly within her hand, the perfect weight, the perfect length.

"It is called Tredici."

The blade itself was black and shaped like the minute hand of a clock.

"The number thirteen is etched into the blade." Runt noted, somehow aware that the strange girl beside her nodded.

"That is how many years you have to live." In horror Runt spun around to stare at the girl. "You real heart is dying, and that metal heart is dying with it."

She scoffed at the flabbergasted expression on the girls pale face. " You never expected to outlive the venom in your veins did you?"

She laughed.

"For every heartless you kill, a certain amount of time shall be subtracted from the grand total." She pointed to the base of the blade, where it slowly grew wider to join the handle. "This clock, will count down for you. See? All thirteen years are represented here."

Runt tried to drop the blade, but the moment it left her fingers it appeared again in a burst of dark light.

"The bigger the baddie, the more time they take, but it all adds up in the end." The small white face of the clock stared up at her ominously, all thirteen roman numerals glittering with their own malicious light as the hands quivered in anticipation to count her down to her very last second.

"Your days are numbered." The black-haired girl said seriously, wiping her hands on her white dress as she backed up into the field of strange blades. "So make them count."

"I can attack the shadows now?" The girl in white nodded.

"You can attack anything your heart desires."

With a cynical laugh she vanished into a dark swirling vortex, and in a similar fashion, so did Runt.

* * *

**Authors Note II**: This chapter may have been rushed, as I mentioned earlier, and I'm sorry if it is. I hope this doesn't make Runt a Mary-Sue that would be something I am trying desperately to avoid. If you have any ideas, or ways to improve this story, send me a comment or an e-mail. I would greatly appreciate constructive criticism. 

_Thank you Jupiter-lightning_, for being a kind and consistent reader. It is for you that I strive to improve, and it is for your entertainment that I continue this story. Thank you for being the only one, out of one-hundred-and-eighty-four hits, to comment.


	5. Deja Vecu

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or anything incorporated with the making of the game.

**Authors Note I**: I will stop writing this if you only ask me to.

* * *

Déjà vécu

* * *

Riku never received the King's reply.

Instead he found himself restless, plagued by ominous dreams and cryptic visions that left his head buzzing with unease. The nights were growing longer, and with the visions fresh in his mind, his feet would no longer allow him rest. As a result he found himself spending more and more nights sitting awake within the seaside hut, waiting to see the glint of glass somewhere within the waves. But of course, it never came, so he continued to go home every night, only to find himself gripped by the same fits of anxiety. For hours he would toss and turn, trying to lure slumber from its refuge, but it would never come but in meager spells. Only long enough to leave him with his dreams and visions, before abandoning him to his anxiety wrought thoughts.

So under the watchful eyes of the many stars, he would find himself at the dock, unhitching his tiny boat, and rowing across the small expanse of sea.

From there he would find his way to the cottage, which by now he had managed to furnish with a small cot in the corner and a few of his more important possessions, and sit restlessly watching the waves for the remainder of the night.

This night was different, though it began the same. His anxiety, that uncontrollable and inescapable emotion came upon him, and began to ravage his mind. His heart began to leap within his chest, the excitement coursing through his veins like fire, spreading quickly through his limbs, undaunted by the controlled expression he struggled to keep upon his face. His eyes trailed their way up toward the only window as a chilling breeze pushed his bangs from his eyes. Clearly now, he could see the storm fast approaching the shore.

The wind grew stronger, and in the distance thunder clapped above the rising waves, the waves that, before his very eyes, were twisting and rising above the darkened horizon. As he had seen it so many times before in dream after dream, the lightning flashed and the water clashed amongst the writhing clouds to form a shape that second by second became more stable as it approached, fast, the island.

A towering body of the roiling currents rose from the sea to form a pair of pointed shoulders where the winds and water met. Stretching out into the darkened oblivion of night to form two long arms marred with scars of white foam from the turbulent tides, and a head of clouds the broke free from the stormy skies, with two twisting horns and eyes that flared with captured lightning.

Before he could react, the body changed.

The face elongated and split as the back hunched and, on arms that had once ended in nothing, a pair of claws began to take a dangerous shape.

It was a dragon.

Riku watched, frozen, for what seemed like an eternity as the beast began to open its jaws, still advancing on the little island, on his little hut, on him. But in truth it only took seconds for the dragon to crash down upon the beach, lashing out one gnarled claw with lightning like speed and accuracy to seize the boy, as it sucked the storm and the tiny sea hut back into the fiery depth of its stomach, and shattered into spray against the rocks.

* * *

**Author's Note II: **I am sorry for making you wait, but I have been incapable of overcoming some unfamiliar complications, not to mention having some strange difficulty balancing out the responsibilities of my life as of late. I hope you can forgive me, and enjoy this chapter regardless of length.

_Jupiter-Lightning_: This may sound very strange, but it is the thought of letting_ you_ down, of dissapointing _you,_ that scares me the most about continuing this story. I hope that you continue to enjoy and comment my writing, and I hope I always meet your expectation. Thank you for being the only out of two-hundred-and-two hits to comment.

To the others who so far have refused to comment, I, again, implore you to make your opinions known. Love it or hate it, I want to know why so that I may improve this story to entertain you. Constructive Criticism is always encouraged, and flames are allowed. I will comment your story in return.


	6. Stranger

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts, or anything incorporated with the Game or the Disney franchise.

**Author's Note I: **I have just gotten a new computer and it has a lousy word program. It's a Mac and I do not know how to approach this lack of better systems. It's my first Mac, I thought I should try something new after having successfully crashed two dell laptops in a time shorter than one year. Needless to say all my documents were wiped away with the crash, hence the lateness of this chapter. 

This chapter sounds rushes, but then again . . . 

EDIT: I spotted some grammar issues that were bugging me. I haven't caught them all so I apologize in advanced. 

Stranger

Riku knew that though his means of arriving in Traverse Town's busy first district were rather untraditional, there was a reason he was there. 

Such was confirmed when a familiar yellow dog came bounding over to him from the crowd and began to bark. He chuckled lightly at the predictability and slumped down to pat the dog between the ears.  

"Lead the way."  He muttered, and Pluto, who always seemed to be able to understand, leapt to his feet and trotted off with Riku, hands tucked casually into his pockets, following in his wake. 

Of course it did not take long as the town was not very large, and Riku could almost sense the King sitting alone and cloaked outside the first district cafe, but the large crowd made Riku glad Pluto was with him. 

"Riku, I must admit I didn't expect you here so soon!" The King began even before he took a seat. "But I'm glad you came, are Sora and Kairi with you?" 

"King Mickey." Riku nodded, ignoring the question and the pang in his heart at the mention of his two friends. "You said that there was something wrong. Do all these people have something to do with it?" 

"Yes, I am afraid so." The King answered solemnly. He understood Riku enough not to press the matter, and could deduct that the boy had come alone. "It appears that Maleficent is back to her old tricks, and . . . "

The King was unable to finish as something crashed loudly only a few feet from their table. Startled, both men leapt up with their hands poised to call forth their weapons.

"Maleficent?" There standing with a pile of metal odds and ends at their feet was a thin frail looking girl. "Maleficent?" 

Both men relaxed. 

"Yes, Maleficent . . . " The King began hesitantly. "You are familiar with the name?" 

The girls dark dirt colored eyes grew puzzled, but she repeated the name once more, raising both of her hands over her head as though to indicate horns, she hardened her expression and pursed her lips shrewdly making her voice cold and haughty. "Maleficent. Maleficent y . . . Pete."

At this she rounded her arms out at her sides and puffed out her cheeks.  

It was a fair imitation that would have cause Riku and the King to chuckle were it under less questionable circumstances. 

The two men turned to each other with eyebrows raised. 

"It is safe to say she knows who we are talking about, but I don't know how much more of our language she understands." 

Riku glanced back at the girl who had only just begun to gather her wares from the ground. 

"It seems she has been here for awhile, maybe there is someone here who can translate . . . "

"Thats a good idea, but I would like to try something first." From his pocket the King pulled out a tiny black object that he secured at the base of his ear. "It's something I had Cid develop when I started to realize that something was happening to the worlds. Hey!"

The girls head shot up in surprise dislodging a few of the objects she had collected. With a cry she hurriedly gathered them back up and tucked them into a bag she must have been in the process of placing them into when she had dropped them originally. The King apologized with a nervous chuckle, and extended a hand holding another tiny black object similar to his out to her. 

She eyed the object cautiously, and Riku watched as she followed the King's careful pantomiming and clasped it as he had done on her earlobe. 

"If everything goes correctly we should be able to understand each other now . . . " As if on cue, Riku watched the girl's face light up, but what spilled out of her mouth was not for him to understand. The King on the other hand nodded. 

The King did not say much, rather he listened to the girl prattle on in the strange language she spoke.  Riku, excluded by the language barrier, took a seat at the table and studied the strange girl carefully. Beaten was how she appeared to him, with dirty blond hair cut with absolutely no rhyme or reason into jagged lengths that varied with no accord, and pale skin tanned only by a wide population of dark purple bruises that blossomed over what little was exposed of her limbs and a particularly dark and nasty burn that lined her left cheek bone. A little worse for wear but speaking eagerly enough, her hands flying in all directions as her lips enunciated the strange words her tongue clicked and rolled to form. She smiled often at the King, a kind of lopsided grin that struck him as simple and straightforward without the slyness or the shyness he had grown accustomed to with women, only to have the bright expression drop from her face as her tone darkened upon more serious topics. 

The Kings face scrunched up in confusion and the girl paused in response her arms slowly falling back to her side as she watched him expectantly. 

"How . . . how could you have been the only survivor?"  The girls lips pursed and for a second she seemed to be in though. With a shrug she began to speak much slower than before, cautiously. The King glanced at Riku and then back at the girl who had fallen still and silent. 

"I think that will be enough, thank you." The girl nodded casing her blond hair to shift in awkward angles over her dark eyes. Then brightening she directed what seemed to be by the upward tone of her voice at the end of her sentence, a question to the King, and a careful smile. 

"Oh no we already have a place to stay, thank you for the offer though." She interrupted him with what seemed to be another question and this time the Kings face blanched. "No you cannot keep that! What . . . where are you going! Oh golly!" 

But the girl had spun on her heals and was now sprinting off through the crowd with Cid's translator still on her ear.

"Oooh! Cid is not going to like this!"  

Everything was happening so fast, it was almost enough to have Riku's head spinning but he, the King, and Pluto chased after her through the crowd  without a second thought. 

**Author'sNote II: **Thank you once again _Jupiter-Lightning _for being a fantastic reader. 

I am sorry this chapter has taken so long. Between work and college my time has been cut drastically short, haha, but the next chapter is under way if you are still interested. 

Constructive Criticism is always appreciated. 


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